Meet Faith Dismuke | Screenwriter

We had the good fortune of connecting with Faith Dismuke and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Faith, why did you pursue a creative career?
Reading and writing have always been opportunities to express myself more clearly. The worlds that I have created in my own stories and the worlds that I’ve found in the stories that I love, like Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist, have been places to escape reality. I specifically enjoy screenwriting because it fosters community and collaboration in a way that other formats of storytelling don’t do as often from my experience. The relationships that I have built through script reviews and film and TV related events and projects have been integral to my growth as a writer.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My journey to screenwriting started with my love of storytelling at a very young age. Looking back, the characters in the books that I read and the TV shows that I watched were like my friends as well as personifications of my desire to escape reality. I was a sweet but awkward child growing up, and the characters that I often admired, like Nickelodeon’s Jimmy Neutron, understood what it was like to be an outcast. Today, I love creating characters that personify complex aspects of humanity from fear to ambition to growth. That was my motivation for self publishing my novel, Sprint Dreams, a story about a female collegiate athlete. Taking my unique experiences as a competitive athlete, I created a story that brought readers into a world that is not always visible, competitive track and field.

Although I am proud of the characters that I created in my novel, I wanted to create characters that were more visual. This led to screenwriting, and I haven’t looked back. Since my journey into screenwriting, I have created awesome characters. The first is Luna from my award-winning, heartfelt, animated short script, “I See You”, the story of a young girl who struggles to take care of her younger brother while keeping a monster at bay. Luna is a sweet representation of sibling love, similar to the love I have for my younger sister. Another character that I’ve written is Balgair from my comedic, adult animated TV pilot script, “The Great Balgair”, the story about an eccentric psychic who struggles to keep his strip mall psychic shop in business. Screenwriting brings me back to my childhood desires of finding friendship in likeminded characters and escaping reality. Between the formatting style of writing scripts and the community that I have found in the Atlanta film and TV space, I have enjoyed the learning and growing process of screenwriting and am excited to share my stories with others. Like my characters, my writing comes from insecurities that I have learned to overcome through the support and love of those around me. Whether my story is about a little girl or a business owner, the narrative often circulates around the families that we have and/or the families that we make within our community.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
During the day, I love stumbling across new places. I’ve been to the larger touristy spots like the Georgia Aquarium and the National Center for Civil and Human Rights. I’ve also enjoyed discovering local shops like the ones in Little Five Points and Sq/Ft in downtown Decatur. For music lovers, Eddy’s Attic in downtown Decatur is an amazing bar/restaurant for listening to live music from talented artists. For good food, I love Botiwalla in Ponce City Market for Indian street food, Victory’s Sandwich Bar and the oxtail pasta at Rock Steady in Atlanta. At night, I love a good speakeasy. Two of my favorites so far have been The James Room by The Beltline and JoJo’s Beloved Cocktail Lounge in Midtown. They are intimate and classy with some amazing drinks and great music.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There are many individuals that have contributed to my success as a writer. The first person to recognize would be my mother who strongly encouraged my love of reading. The many trips to Barnes & Noble as a child have not gone to waste. Another person that I’d like to recognize is my partner who was and is my cheerleader throughout my screenwriting journey. At times when I am insecure or nervous about the quality of a script, she has been there to provide feedback and booster my confidence when needed. Overall, the Atlanta film and TV and animation communities have welcomed me as an Atlanta transplant in a way that has kept me encouraged to continue to write and create. Winning the Atlanta Film Festival Screenwriting Competition in 2023 with my animated short script, “I See You”, truly elevated my network and introduced me to an amazing and supportive community of writers and filmmakers. Through that film festival and its organizer, the Atlanta Film Society, I have also had the opportunity to meet other entities, like People Store, dedicated to finding and supporting talent in the Atlanta area. As a screenwriter who enjoys both live action and animation stories, I’ve also found support in the Atlanta animation community. I truly appreciate the community that organizations like ASIFA-South, BWA (Black Women Animate), and the WIA (Women In Animation) Atlanta chapter foster and support through networking events and education.

Website: https://writers.coverfly.com/profile/faithdismuke

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/faithdismuke/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/faithdismuke/

Image Credits
Faith holding boomer mic in front of camera credited by Sidhartha Wakade